GOP candidate wins appeal and slot on 11th Congressional District ballots
An Illinois appellate court on Friday reversed lower decisions and ordered Republican congressional candidate Tedora M. Brown’s name to be added to 11th District ballots.
The order from the three-member 1st District appellate court ordered Brown’s name “be placed on the ballot immediately.” It also ordered the Illinois State Board of Elections to “take all steps necessary” to enforce the order.
Brown, of Palos Park, is among four candidates running for the GOP nomination in the 11th Distrct. The others are Elburn Mayor Jeff Walter, Naperville resident Michael Pierce and Aurora resident Charlie Kim.
Brown’s attorney, Max Solomon, celebrated the order Friday.
“This has been a long-fought battle,” he said. “I’m glad that we prevailed at the courts.”
A Brown campaign spokesperson declined to comment.
The elections board had ruled in January that Brown shouldn’t be on the ballot because her candidate petitions had 798 valid signatures, one short of the required 799. An Elburn resident had objected to Brown’s petitions and sought to disqualify her.
Brown appealed in Cook County court, but a judge subsequently upheld the board’s ruling. Brown appealed again.
The 11th District encompasses portions of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, Will, DeKalb and Boone counties.
The elections board will revise the 11th District Republican primary ballot to include Brown and notify the affected county clerks. It’s up to each county to ensure Brown is included on its ballots, elections board spokesperson Matt Dietrich said.
Adam Johnson, the chief deputy clerk in DuPage County, said his staff will consult with lawyers to determine how to proceed. While Brown said DuPage’s vote-by-mail ballots haven’t yet gone out because of Brown’s appeal, 742 people had voted early in person as of Thursday afternoon, county records show.
The winner of the March 17 Republican primary will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Foster of Naperville in November’s general election. Foster is unopposed in the Democratic primary.
· Daily Herald Staff Writer Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.